Ridderrennet 2009

The story so far...

The day started off quite fine with an all right breakfast. I met my assistant ( compulsary to have one) outside the hotel at 9 AM. She was a fit physiotherapist aiming for Marcia Longa next winter. Also she was outgoing and easy to talk with.

At the stadium I had a couple of glasses of lemonade and a banana before warming up. My starting time was at 10:11, half a minute after the first one in my class. I felt a bit tense, but still positively excited. And despite of a sore throat and a bit of a cold, I felt ready to fight!

I had 22 racers in front of me in the slope. Sixteen of them went 20 kilometres, and the rest went 10 kilometres. Though only one male. 300 metres after the start, I passed my competitor and at 2 kilometres I had passed five or six racers. I felt I gained quite good speed and kept the pace fairly well. I distanced my assistant downhill around 8 kilometres, but she returned a bit later. But the last 200 metres i spurted past her again. It is a pleasure to feel so exhausted that I need a couple of minutes to restitute.

Unfortunately, I did not time myself. But now I know that i won the class in 43:26 (mm:ss). Apparantly I beat number two with 5 minutes! Certainly a great feeling! The winner of the 20 kilometres Norwegian Cup race sitskiing was a lot faster than me, apparantly he did the distance in 1:02 (h:mm). That is awesome and deserves a lot of credit. And the others in this class were also faster than me. Albeit this vast time difference, I am very pleased. He is ranked as one of the three or four best in the world!

My experience from this is that I really feel

The immediate future looks bright

Finally the weather forecast looks a bit better. Tomorrow they are expecting some sun in the morning, which suits me just fine. I'm starting as number 23 eleven munites past ten.

we had a short round on the track today in some snow. I've experienced better conditions, but it doesn't matter now. Tomorrow is the day..!

The day before

I'm surrounded by winners! By that I'm not only referring to the fastest skiiers, but even more the ones that are competing against themselves and their perceived obstacles. These competitors are serving as ideals to many.

Having said that, there are also achievents on a top international here as well. I'm impressed by the performance of completing a 10 kilometer slope in 25 minutes og a sitski!

Still I haven't been assigned my "little helper". Still waiting....

Arrival

Yesterday I arrived here at Beitostølen. Immediately I found some friends and we had a nice time.

Today the weather has changed and we have - 10 C accompanied by snow. This will give us a heavy task tomorrow.

Three days left

This morning I handed in my skis for waxing. Tomorrow they should be professionally waxed and ready for the event of the year.

I looked at the starting list, which looked interesting. Todays biathlon was interesting reading as well. I am not sure of my form compared to the others, but I am really excited now.

Now I need to focus on getting enough rest. That wil be my main challenge!

Sitski racing!

In 96 hours I should have finished one of my main targets for this year. 10 kilometers cross country skiing at Beitostølen. I am really looking forward to this event. Today I went through a self-composed session at Elixia, and the next days wil be more restitutional.

I feel a bit nervous and very excited!!

Preparations for Ridderrennet

Today I finished my last round on the sitski before Ridderrennet. Last weekend was not the best in terms of preparations to the competition, but given my ambitions this year I hope to fullfill my goals.

I'm aiming for a better result than two years ago. Then I finished 6th. Hopefully my time will improve and my ambitions are to fight for a medal. That will require a top performance on my behalf. And I am still hoping for good weather, as I don't trust myself able to compete on strength..

Today I did not pusk myself hard. There is no point in tearing on my form now. I need to build up. But my former trips indicates that I do have my 40 minute barrier within reach.

WC Ski Jumping

WC Ski Jumping is a valuable event for Lillehammer. And for the first time in many years I managed to get there to watch the competition.

We had VIP passes that ensured excellent view of the competitors throwing themself out in 90 km/h accompanied by some alcoholic fluids for some. I was driving, which enabled me to follow the main event thoroughly! Fascinating in one way, and a confirmation of my suspicion that these young men seem fearless...

The Norwegians fell through and eventually a Finn won, followed by a Russian. Some of the spectators seemed to enjoy the beer more than the sport event, but the atmosphere was good.

I'll be back next year!